Holistic finite differences ensure fidelity to Burger’s equation

I analyse a generalised Burger’s equation to develop an accurate finite difference approximation to its dynamics. The analysis is based upon centre manifold theory so we are assured that the finite difference model accurately models the dynamics and may be constructed systematically. The trick to the application of centre manifold theory is to divide the physical domain into small elements by introducing insulating internal boundaries which are later removed. Burger’s equation is used as an example to show how the concepts work in practise. The resulting finite difference models are shown to be significantly more accurate than conventional discretisations, particularly for highly nonlinear dynamics. This centre manifold approach treats the dynamical equations as a whole, not just as the sum of separate terms—it is holistic. The techniques developed here may be used to accurately model the nonlinear evolution of quite general spatio-temporal dynamical systems.